As discussed in my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 311,671, damage to man-made building structures, foundations, and geology, resulting from seismic activity, has been extensively investigated. Such investigations have shown that damage to building structures is primarily induced by the constituent makeup of their foundations. The studies concluded that the natural periods of vibration of the foundation and the supported structure, as well as the nature of the earthquake vibration and the foundation material, must be considered in the design and construction of building structures.
Studies of the above type have given rise to modern-day building techniques, including the driving of piles or support columns into solid ground to support a building structure. However, since the building structure is integrally connected to the foundation and ground, vertical, horizontal, and/or inclined faulting will transmit seismic forces to the building structure directly, regardless of the type of foundation and ground makeup. Other types of foundations have been proposed for building structures in attempts to isolate ground movements, including a "floating" foundation. To date, conventional building techniques of this type have not been widely accepted since they do not provide for the efficient isolation of seismic forces from the building structures and do not further ensure that the building structures will continuously remain in horizontal dispositions when subjected to such forces.